Junior and Adult Novice Supervision Policy

If you are brand new to bouldering we require you to attend one of our Introductory coaching sessions or come along with a friend/relative who is an experienced boulderer and is willing to act as your supervisor throughout your first session. We run weekly 1-hour Bouldering Introduction Sessions where a member of The Font coaching team will take you through all the safety, technique and etiquette aspects that will help you get started bouldering in a group setting with others new to climbing. Please visit our Coaching page for more information.

Supervising Juniors

• Only competent climbers should supervise juniors within The Font facilities. If you are not a competent climber we recommend booking one of our coached sessions to either up skill yourself or onboard your junior(s). 
• When supervising, you should be visually supervising your climber(s), attentive to them, but ensure you are outside of all climber's fall zones.
• Juniors who are not climbing but are within the centre must still be considered within our supervision ratios. Please check the Under 18s Access Policy for further ratio detail.
• Assist your junior(s) in making decisions about when and where it is safe to climb. Climbers cannot control where they fall so you must ensure that you and your junior(s) are not in a dangerous position. For this reason, we recommend that you stay off of or near the edge of the matting when you are not climbing.
• Ensure that junior(s) you are supervising are aware and understand the Rules and Good Practices of the centre to help them in climbing safely.
• Our gym space has different access policies to our climbing space for juniors. Please ensure you are correctly following these access policies. If you are at all unsure then please feel free to ask a member of staff who will be happy to help. 

Supervising Adult Novices

• Novice boulderers must attend under the supervision of a competent adult boulderer on their first occasion.
• Competent adult boulderers may supervise up to 2 adult novices. For groups of 3 adult novices or more, you will either need more supervisors, or a coach.
• Only competent boulderers should supervise novice climbers within The Font facilities. If you are not a competent climber we recommend booking one of our coached sessions to either up skill yourself or join one of our coached sessions along with the novice(s) you are intending on supervising.
• By agreeing to supervise novice(s) you are taking on the responsibility of their safety while using The Font facilities. Our team are there to assist you with specific queries, but you will be responsible for them while in the centre.
• When supervising, you should be visually supervising your climber(s), attentive to them, but ensure you are outside of all climber's fall zones.
• Assist your novice(s) in making decisions about when and where it is safe to climb. Climbers cannot control where they fall so you must ensure that you and your novice(s) are not in a dangerous position. For this reason, we  recommend that you stay off of or near the edge of the matting when you are not climbing.
• Ensure the novice(s) you are supervising are aware and understand the Rules and safe practices of the centre to help them in climbing safely. We recommend that you and your novice(s) take the time to read and remind yourselves of the safety signage around the centre.
• You are also required to monitor the novice(s) you are supervising within the gym and ensure they are following safe usage guidelines present when operating equipment.